Machine for smooth ing wood surfaces



B. 1); WHITNEY. MACHINE FORSMOOTHING WOOD SURFACES. ;No. 351,676.

5 SheetsSheet 1.

(No Model.)

Patented Oct. 2 1886.

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(No Model. 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 B. D. WHITNEY.- MACHINE FOB SMOOTHING WOODSURFACES.

No. 351,676. Patented Oct. 26,1886.

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' 5Sheets-Sh eet3. B. D. WHITNEY.

MACHINE FOR SMOOTHING WOOD SURFACES. No. 351,676.

Patented Oct. 26, 1886.

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B. DQWHITNEY'. MACHINE FORSMOOTHING WOOD SURFACES.

N0. 351,676. P tented Oct. 26, 1886.

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' 5 Sheets-Sheet 5. B. D. WHITNEY. MACHINE FOR SMOOTHING WOOD SURFACES.

V UNITED ST TES PATENT- FFICE.

MACHINE FOR SMOOTHING WOOD SURFACES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 351,676, dated October26, 1886. Application filed Jai nary 30, 18%. Serial No. 190,299. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, BAXTER D. WHITNEY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Winchendon, in the county of Worcester and State ofMassachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inMachines for Smoothing Wood Surfaces; and I do declare the following tobe a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as willenable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and usethe same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to theletters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part ofthis specification.

This invention relates to a machine for fine planing or smoothing boardsor other articles of wood by the removal of a comparatively light and(as nearly as practicable) acontinuous shaving or layer of the materialacted upon, so that the resulting surface may be more even, uniform, andsmoother than that produced by planing-machines with the dip-and-liftcut, or by other means usually employed in the preparation of lumber;and it is particularly applicable to the re-dressing of stock whichhasbeen reduced to a uniform thickness (or as nearly a uniform thicknessas is usually Fig. 2 is an end elevation.

obtained) by the other means.

The invention consists of a cutting tool or blade with appliances forits adjustment and retention in a fixed position, and witha series offeeding-rollers and pressure devices for bringing the material to beacted upon into contact with the cutting-tool in a manner better suitedto the proper accomplishment of the work than by methods heretofore inuse, as will more fully appear in the detailed description of themachine, which is represented by the accompanying drawings, making apart of this specification, in which-- Figure 1 is a side elevation ofthe machine. Fig. 3 is a Verti cal longitudinal section on line 00 m ofFig. 2. Fig. 4 is a vertical transverse section on line y y of Fig. 1.Fig. 5 is a cross-section of the cutter-stock with a planer-iron bladeset prdinary cylinder-planer or at an angle of forty-five degrees fromthe line of work. Fig. 7 is a side elevation of one end of a tool-stock.Fig. 8 is a top view of same. Figs. 5 to 8 are drawn on a scale aboutthree times larger than Figs. 1 to 4. Fig. 9 is a perspective of thewithdrawable tool-stock.

Like letters of reference indicate like parts in all the figures.

The main frame-work of the machine is indicated by the letter A.

B represents a vertically-adjustable bedplate or table, upon which thestuff to be planed is passed through the machine. It is situated betweenthe sides of the frame and held in'its lateral position by suitableguideways contacting therewith. It is made with inclined feet seatedupon two inclined planes or wedges, O 0, whereby it may be adjusted andheld at any desired height, the adjust ment being made by a longitudinalmovement of the wedges O O by means of screws D D, spiral wheels E E,and wormshaft F, which is worked in either direction by friction-wheelsG and H as the latter (revolved by bandwheels, &c., from the maindrive-shaft I) is made to contact with the internal or external faces ofG by tilting the vibratory lever J, in which the shaft of H isjournaled.

K represents a cutting tool or blade, which may be made of steel plate,properly tempered,

and fitted and fixed in a tool stoek made in two principal parts, L andL, said tool being fastened by means of a clamping-plate, M, and screwsN N to part L, which is vertically adjustable in its relations to L byscrews 0 0; so that the difference in the planes of the top faces of thetwo parts will correspond to and serve as a gage for the thickness ofthe shaving or lamina of material to be removed from the board orarticle to be planediand said faces willlikewise serve as bearings orsupports in close proximity to the cutter for the unfinished andfinished surfaces of the board, to hold. and guide it steadily andcorrectly for a proper cut, thereby insuring more uniform and perbladeK,s'crews P are provided, while screws surface on some varieties ofwork.

' cut.

Q and R are for adjusting the clampingplate M, which may be used as acap-iron or chipbreaker for K,when desired. Forcutting soft lumber theblade K may be placed at an angle of about forty-five degrees from theline of cut, as represented by Fig. 5, and for harder woods, or thosewith irregular grain, it may be advantageously used at a greaterdivergence, or at right angles to the face of the stock, as shown inFig.6. In this case it has its edge turned to act asascraper,whichproduces afine This toolstock is mounted in the bed-plate B with thecutting-edge of blade K extending transversely across the surface of thetable. For convenience in exchanging, sharpening, and adjustingbladcs,the stock is withdrawable from the side of the machine, and whenset for use it maybe held in position by set-screws, wedges, or othersuitable retaining devices. (See Fig. 9.)

The letters S designate the feeding-rollers for carrying the stuff tothe cutter and through the machine. The number and arrangement of thesemay be suited to the strength of feed required, one or two pairs beingsufficient, perhaps, for light work, while four pairs, (as Sh0Wll, ormore, perhaps, may be needed in other cases. They may be rotated by anysuitable system of gearing to transmit the requisite motion, which neednot be particularly described here, such a system as indicated by dottedlines in Fig. 1) being the subject of a separate application for LettersPat- Each lower roll is journaled in the bedplate B, and is verticallyadjustable therewith. Their position relative to the table is such aswill guide the work side of the board in the right plane to approach andleave the cutting tool correctly. The upper rollers are mounted inspring-pressure hangings connected with frame A, which havetensionscrews T T T T, bearing upon springs U U U U, to regulate thepressure upon the boards and grip them sufficiently to carry them overthe cutter. These rollers S, for the propulsion and general guidance ofthe boards, 850., through the machine, are properly made of metal orrigid material retaining a correct line. It is necessary, however, tohold the board in contact with the cutting-tool just at the point whereit is making the out. For this purpose plates or bars of metal or rigidmaterial have heretofore been placed to bear upon the back or reverseside of the board opposite the cutters. If the pieces to be worked werealways of uniform thickness and contour this might suffice; but withinaccuracies incident to the imperfections of the preliminarypreparation that is seldom the case, and as a very fine cut leaves amuch nicer surface than a coarse or heavy chip, it is expedient to gagethe thickness of the shaving entirely from the face or work side of theboard rather than partly from the opposite side, as must be the casewith a non-elastic support, which as heretofore used has made itnecessary to remove a shaving of inordinate thickness in some places,in. ordcrto make the cut continuous and dress the entire surface of theboard. To obviate this defect of former mechanism, and to compensate forthe imporfections ofstoc-k to be dressed, I have devised, and now applyto the reverse side of the board or article being planed at a pointdirectly opposite or against the cutting-tool, an elastic pressuredevice arranged to hold the face 01' work side of the board closely tothe surfaces of the tool-stock L L, to overcome the irregularities ofthickness and contour of the stock, so that a very thin and continuousshaving may be removed from the outside of the material and theresulting surface be left with a nicer and more perfect finish than canotherwise be obtained, while the work of the cutter is greatly reduced,and it is thereby enabled to hold a sharp edge much longer than with aless delicate adjustment and cut. This compensating pressure device maybe applied in the form of a variably-yielding spring or springs arrangedto bear upon the board at different points in its width, or it may be inthe form of a broken, jointed, orelastic rollers. As the last mentionedis quite as practicable and easy to apply and others less resistance tothe passage of the board,while if geared it may aid in that line, it isin many respects preferable to other modifications suggested, and I haverepresented the device in the drawings in the form of a roller, V, whichmay be made of spring, rubber, or other elastic material which willadapt itself to the work and exert sufficient pressure whereverrequired, and such a roller properly made and applied constitutes a veryeffective device for the purpose described.

The machine in operation has its feedingrollers rotated by a band-wheelon shaft I, from which motion is transmitted through the system ofgear-wheels connecting the several rolls therewith, the table B, withthe cutting-tool and its appliances, and the rolls connected thereto,being adj ustcd to suit the thickness 01' the article to be operatedupon. Said article or material is introduced between the upper and lowerrollers, and is carried by them to the cutting-tool, where it receivesthe pressure of the elastic roll V, which acts upon each point of itstransverse section to hold it firmly to the face of the tool-stock, sothat a very thin and continuous shaving or layer of the material istaken off from the entire surface of the board or other article, leavingit with a nice, even, and smooth surface, well suited for the finefinish used for various purposes for which the work of the machine isdesigned and employed. The cut is nicely gaged and the piece acted uponcorrectly guided by the adj ustablefaced toolstock and compensatingpressure device, so that a finer shaving and nicer out are made than ispossible without these appliances, which add materially to theefficiency of the machine and the excellence of its execut-ion.

Having thus described mechanism to whichmy improvements are applicable,I claim as my invention I 1. In a smoothing-machine, the combination ofthe tool-stock consisting of the parts L and L, vertically adjustablewith respect to each other, having a cutting-blade, K, adj ustable bymeans of the screws 1?, and the clamping-plate M, adjustable by means ofthe screws Q and R, all arranged substantially in the manner and for thepurpose specified.

2. In a smoothing-machine, the combina' tion, with the adjustablecutting-tool K, having a tool-stock consisting of the parts L and L,vertically adjustable with respect to each other, of an equalizingpressure-roll, V, or

other equivalent pressure device, arranged directly over thecutting-tool, substantially as specified aud'shown.

3. In a smoothing-machine, the combina tion of the vertically-adjustabletable B, the sliding inclined planes 0 0, screws D D, spiral Wheels E E,worm-shaft F, and friction-wheels G and H, arranged andbperated by leverJ substantially as and for the purpose shown and described.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

BAXTER D. WHITNEY. Witnesses:

FRED E. TASKER, E. L. WHITE.

